UGC- UKIERI Call for Research Proposals 2016

Deadline for submission: October 5, 2016

Background of the Programme

UK India Education Research Initiative (UKIERI) started in April 2006 with the aim of enhancing educational links between India and the UK. It has been recognized as a key multi stakeholder programme that has strengthened the educational relations between the two countries and been successful in covering all segments of the education sector.
UKIERI is funded from the UK by Department for Business, Energy, Innovation and Skills, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, British Council, Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Department for Employment and Learning; and from India by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department for Science and Technology, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Labour and Employment, University Grants Commission and All India Council for Technical Education.
The aim of Phase 1 (2006- 2011) of the programme was to establish UKIERI as a framework to enable a step-change in the UK-India relationship in education and research. Phase 2 (2011-2016) focused on thematic areas agreed by both countries which included Leadership Development, Innovation Partnerships, Skills Development and Enhancing Mobility.

UKIERI Phase 3 (2016-2021) has been launched in April 2016 and will work on the key priorities as identified by the two governments. The overarching aim for UKIERI Phase 3 is to build on the achievements of the previous two phases through a targeted approachfocussed upon maximising impact. Fewer, long term activities will be undertaken to enhance the quality of education and research links across the two countries and these will be driven by and for practitioners.

UKIERI 3 focusses on three strands:

Strand 1: Leadership and Faculty Development

Strand 2: Skills Development

Strand 3: e-Partnership and Research Incubation

This call is under Strand 3 focussing on developing jointly funded research and innovation partnerships with core societal benefit outcomes.

Guidelines on UGC-UKIERI THematic Partnerships

The first part of the guidelines provides background information and general information about the UGC-UKIERI Thematic Partnerships.

The second part provides specific guidelines for completing the application form.

The applicants are strongly encouraged to read both parts of this document and the guidelines on the application form, in detail, well in advance of starting to complete the application as the application will require significant advance preparation and inputs from various parties.

Background and General Guidance

The sub-strand will facilitate collaborations between the Indian and UK higher education institutions t (public funded) to support work on new or existing research projects.

Each project for funding should involve a mix of activities and must include two lead teams: one based in the UK and the other based in India.

Subjects/Disciplines COVERED

The partnerships will be open for all subject areas.

Eligibility

UGC-UKIERI Thematic Partnerships are intended to be between institution-based research teams in the UK and India of proven research ability. The Project Leaders must be of at least postdoctoral status or equivalent. Each project must be a joint submission by the UK and Indian teams, through their institutions and endorsed by the respective heads of institutions or their delegated authority.

UK Project Leaders should be based at a UK university ( not-for-profit UK research organisationsand resident within the UK. EU citizens may apply provided they hold a permanent position in a UK institution. Non-EU citizens may apply provided they hold a permanent position at a UK institution for at least three consecutive years.

Indian institutions which receive development grants from UGC and MHRD funded institutions are eligible to apply under the programme.

Only one application is allowable from any Lead Researcher and research team members may be involved in one single application.

Activities that UGC-UKIERI funding will cover

UGC-UKIERI funding is designed to support the collaborative costs of the joint research project(s). All proposals will need to include details of contributions from the institutions involved, and from other sources. It is anticipated that a considerable portion ofUGC-UKIERI funds may be used to support exchanges between the research teams in the two countries. There are standard UKIERI or UGC rates for most elements that may be charged to the initiative and all applications must use these rates. Eligible costs include staff, researchers and research student exchanges, with extended periods of research attachments, essential to deliver the project’s proposed outcomes. It should be noted however, that in line with promoting exchange between the participating research teams, all individuals spending time in the “other” country must be part of their home research team and spend the minimum required time with that team, and no more than the maximum allowable time in the other country (see below).

A UGC-UKIERI project grant can cover:

i.Research Staff and (Postdoctoral) Research Fellows’ (or equivalent) exchanges: to include travel related and accommodation costs for a maximum duration of 15 days per year

ii.Research Students (Postgraduate and PhD) exchanges: to include travel related and accommodation costs for a maximum duration of 89 days per year

iii.Reasonable costs directly associated with the research activities e.g. reagents and other specialist laboratory consumables, (of up to o a maximum of 15% of the total amount requested from UGC-UKIERI)

iv.Other costs, including staff costs, directly associated with the delivery of the project and not mentioned above, will be considered on an ad hoc basis

v.Up to four visits each side, per year is permitted.

vi. Administration Overhead costs of up to 10% excluding travel and field work is permitted. This would cover administrative, data collation, accounting and other similar services.

NOTE : The international air-fare from, institute to institute (for example if a scholar is travelling from Manchester to Ahmedabad, the UK institution will be responsible for air fare from Manchester to Delhi to Ahmedabad and back), will be provided by economy class by the sponsoring country and hospitality will be borne by the receiving country.

UGC-UKIERI funds are not intended to contribute towards the costs of administration or other institutional overheads fully.

It is expected that Institutions/Scholars involved in the UGC-UKIERI partnership will ensure that all IPR related matters will be addressed appropriately.

Duration & Value of Partnerships

UGC-UKIERI funds are available for partnerships of up to 3 years in duration. UGC-UKIERI partnerships will provide for a maximum of £200,000 over the duration of the project, subject to availability of funds.

Quantum of funding for the project would be decided by the Project Grant Committee having representatives fromUGC and UKIERI. This will be based on

  • Justification submitted by institution.
  • Subject to availability of funds.

Applications from Partnerships

There is an expectation and requirement that all major parties to a proposal (e.g. the different research teams in countries, other partners and sponsors) should be kept fully informed of the development of the application and the implementation of the partnership. It is expected that the lead researchers will keep all parties to the application updated on developments, and will share feedback, if any, with all parties concerned.

General Criteria for the Awards

The principles underlying the submission and assessment of proposals for UGC-UKIERI awards will be:

  • They will be competitive
  • The evaluation process will be transparent and consistent
  • They should be submitted jointly by the Indian and UK Project Leaders
  • They must have the formal support of the respective heads of institutions/organisations

Evaluation Process

Step One: Initial Screening

Following the opening session and administrative check, the UKIERI Secretariat will inform the applicants whether their application was submitted prior to the deadline, whether their application has satisfied all criteria mentioned in the checklist and whether their application has been short-listed for evaluation.

Step Two: EVALUATION BY PANEL OF SUBJECT EXPERTS

All projects on the short list will go forward to a sector assessment panel, which will include external assessors. All comments and grading arising from the panel will be seen and used by the Project Grant Committee to make their recommendations.

The assessment panel will evaluate the projects as per pre-determined assessment criteria. The panel will include representatives from the UK and Indian side.

Step Three: Final Selection and approval by project board

An evaluation of the quality of the proposals, including the proposed budget, and of the capacity of the applicant and its partners, will be carried out in accordance with the evaluation criteria. The ultimate decision for agreeing projects for funding support will be made by the UKIERI and UGC Project Board.

Evaluation Criteria

  • The extent to which the project might contribute towards both mutuality and long term sustainable partnerships between the UK & India
  • The quality of the institutions/organisations applying; are they recognised as Centres of Excellence in the selected field e.g. by government or funding bodies
  • The clarity of outcomes proposed with quantifiable outputs including:

Capacity of the project to contribute to the development of a new technology, service or product

Creation of new ideas and knowledge which can possibly lead to future innovations

Creation of new PhD, research scholar links leading to sustainable research collaborations

Quality and effectiveness of the scientific methodology

Scientific and/or social impact expected

Added value to be expected from the research collaboration

Opportunities for early career researchers

Linkages, engagement and participation by the businesses/industry

  • The extent to which the projects meet the UKIERI principles through:

Actively involving partners from both countries

Bringing mutual benefits and a two way flow of ideas

Having plans to achieve sustainability

Tools for Social Inclusion/Capacity Building

Inclusion of ICT tools and digital platforms for outreach, learning and delivery

Synergy between the universities, institutions and the industry leading to quantifiable economic benefits

  • The extent to which the projects applications are well thought through and deliverable, as demonstrated by

Have specific objectives achievable within a clear timeframe

Have clearly costed proposals within the available resources

Have clear ideas for dissemination

Have a clear approach to monitoring and reporting

Have recognized potential areas of risk

Please note that the evaluation process and criterion is not exhaustive and can be modified based on the feedback from stakeholders and experts.

Financial Proposal

Please summarise the estimated costs (£ Sterling) over the period of the project on an annual basis (i.e. normally for a Financial Year 1 April – 31 March). Please assume the start date for project as 1 April 2017.

  • All travel and accommodation cost where applicable should normally be the most reasonably priced economy class. The scholars will abide by the national policy of the respective government with regard to travel.
  • Student and other institutional fees: however it is anticipated that participating institutions will discount these significantly as part of their contribution to UKIERI.
  • Project specific costs (up to 15% of the total project funding): UKIERI funds can be used to contribute for such needs. However, funds cannot be employed to meet the regular administrative costs or running costs of the institution.
  • Any other costs to be met from UKIERI funds should be itemised.

The following costs are not eligible:

  • debts and provisions for losses or debts
  • interest owed
  • items already financed in another framework
  • currency exchange losses
  • direct costs of staff time
  • administration or other overheads

Please use pounds sterling (GBP or £) as the unit of currency throughout the financial proposal, even though some costs will be incurred in (INR) Indian rupees. Please double check all amounts and calculations in this section, as it is an important part of the scoring of the proposal, and changes cannot be made after submission, nor will the UKIERI team or assessors check or recalculate on your behalf. Please summarise the estimated costs (£ sterling) over the period of the project on an annual basis (i.e. normally for a Financial Year 1st April – 31st March). You must use the table provided to set out your costs in detail, in the format required.

Tuition may be charged to UKIERI for research student and other institutional fees. However, it is anticipated that many participating institutions will want to use these as a significant part of their institutional contribution to UKIERI. Therefore, if you are proposing to charge UKIERI for them at all, you may wish to discount them significantly.

UGC-UKIERI has indicative rates given below for allowances:

Indicative Allowances for Indian Research Team Members Travelling to the UK
  • Monthly allowance for Research Staff and Fellows: £1700
  • Monthly allowance for Research Students: £1300
  • Visas:For any number of visits up to 6 months duration each in any 6 month period: £150
  • The hospitality will be provided by the receiving side.
Indicative Allowances for UK Research Team Members Travelling to India
  • Daily allowance for Research Staff and Fellows: 2500 INR
  • Daily allowance for Research Students: 1000 INR
  • Visas:For any number of visits up to 6 months duration each in any 6 month period: £80
  • The hospitality will be provided by the receiving side.

Submitting your application

Electronic applications should be sent to

UGC-UKIERI Thematic Partnerships

UKIERI Secretariat

British Council Division

17, Kasturba Gandhi Marg

New Delhi 110001

Email:

A Copy should be sent to

MrigankaSekharSarma

Education Officer

University Grants Commission
Bahadurshah Zafar Marg

New Delhi

Email:

All enquiries should be directed to:

Please note that any application which is incomplete in any way – including the omission of any signatures and dates on the hard copy version – will not be entertained. Please note that one submission needs to be made on behalf of all partners.

The applications are advised not to make frequent enquiries about the result. Instead, they may visit UKIERI website for the same. However, the individual applicants will be informed, separately by e-mail.

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